No one can be cheerful all the time. Some occasions merit unhappiness. Sometimes the headlines are terrible.
But sometimes, life can be objectively going well, and yet little things can set people off. When a bad mood lingers too long, it can start to feed on itself. Everything looks awful, even when it really isn’t.
Fortunately, there are a few ways to turn a bad mood around — and not just by passing it to other people (part of the plot of the delightful Lemony Snicket children’s story The Bad Mood and the Stick). Here are some of my favorites.
1. Give someone a compliment. This is so easy to do — it’s pretty easy to come up with something nice to say to someone — and the payoff is huge. The other person tends to thank you, and the good feelings start to spread. If it’s a particularly bad mood, then write a full-on thank you/complimentary email to someone, listing particulars and their benefits to you. This will get you out of your own head as you write it, and the response will likely be a boost for both of you.
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